Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 22647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Five?
Lois laughed joyously and then tilted her head to look at me. “I’ll be happy with one for now, okay Blaine?”
I held a thumbs up to her. “Yes, mom.”
***
“I think you’ve got entirely way too much Christmas shit,” Elliott said to me as he hung more lights.
I winked at him. “I know, isn’t it great?”
He sighed, coming to a stop when he got to the bottom of the tree. “Just don’t think I’ll do this every year.”
His statement was a bluff, and we both knew it.
He’d helped me decorate for three Christmases now, and would continue to do so in the future.
“Oh, Christmas Tree,” A deep raspy voice played sang the speakers, making my head shoot up with glee.
“It’s our song!” I squealed, bouncing over to him like a kangaroo on crack.
He sighed and caught me, plastering me to his side.
“I hate dancing,” he mumbled, but nonetheless, started to sway to the music. “You should give me a blow job later to make up for this embarrassment you put me through every year.”
I snorted and tried not to wince when he stepped on my pinky toe. The good thing was, was that he wasn’t wearing shoes, so it didn’t hurt like it usually did.
“I’ll give you a blow job, but only if you let me open one of my presents tonight,” I suggested.
He scrunched up his nose and shook his head. “No way, Jose.”
“Then I guess you’ll just have to settle for good old fashion sex,” I said before he twirled me around, hand above my head.
I went with it, even though he twirled me into the tree, pulling me back just in time to see the tree topple over on top of Steeler.
Who then proceeded to knock over my Wise Men, my Christmas baby collection, the glass of milk and cookies I’d jokingly placed on the coffee table, and finally the glass fiber optic angel I’d just bought that day.
It shattered to the ground in a million pieces, and I closed my eyes, laying my head onto Elliott’s chest. “Clumsy dog.”
He burst into laughter. “Damn straight.”
Chapter 7
You don’t have issues. You have a mother lovin’ subscription.
-E-card
Blaine
Christmas number 4
I stared at my husband with my heart in my throat.
My heart was bleeding for him. His grief was almost palpable.
Elliott was sitting on the couch, reading an article in the paper with his head in his hands.
I’d only needed to read the article’s headline to know it would dredge up wounds that he’d spent a long time trying to bury.
Army Ranger’s memory lives on in surviving daughter.
Kayla, that sweet baby girl, was sitting on Santa’s lap, which happened to be Sam dressed up as Santa, in the picture to the side of the heading.
In the article, it went on to explain about Dougie’s life. How he’d been an Army Ranger, and had died doing something he loved with all his heart.
I felt selfish.
If Elliott hadn’t gotten out, would Dougie still be here? Had I pushed him to get out? I didn’t think I had, but Elliott had been distant.
The only times he was truly himself was when he made love to me in the night. I missed my best friend, and he wouldn’t be acting like this if I hadn’t pushed him to get out somehow.
I was being irrational. I knew it, yet I couldn’t stop blaming myself.
Backing away slowly, I walked through the kitchen and to the backdoor where I slipped my sock-covered feet into my tennis shoes and walked out.
I looked over my shoulder before I closed it, just to see if he was looking, but he wasn’t.
He hadn’t moved a muscle, still in the exact same position.
Looking to my left, I was surprised to see I wasn’t the only one on the back porch.
Cheyenne was there, too.
Her long blonde hair up high on her head in a ponytail. She was covered in a large comforter on her own porch, which connected to mine.
Free was set up to be more of a large duplex-type structure. Only with eight homes instead of two.
“Hey,” I called to Cheyenne.
She looked up and smiled. “Hey.”
I liked Cheyenne.
I liked how she watched out for Sam.
I liked how she made him smile. I honestly liked everything about her. Then again, if she could put a smile on Sam’s face during these dark days, then she would forever have a home inside my heart.
It’d been six long months since Dougie had died, and six long months of having each and every man that belonged on their team blaming themselves for not being there.
I was honestly exhausted.
To make matters worse, I’d yet to tell Elliott that he was going to be a father.
I knew it wasn’t the right time. Then again, I wasn’t sure when that was going to be. Maybe never with the way he was going.
“I think I’m going to go for a walk,” I said as I hugged my jacket close to my body. “If Elliott asks,” I knew he wouldn’t. “Would you tell him where I went?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
We were both having our own problems.
On her part, she had someone threatening her. Then again, I did too, but nobody knew to what extent. Nobody except Sam. I wasn’t completely stupid after all; I just didn’t want to make a big deal of it. I didn’t want Elliott to look any worse than he already did.
Sam was reluctant to keep the fact that an ex-member of their old team was threatening me from Elliott, but I’d begged him, and he’d relented.
Only because I never went anywhere.
I did all my work online.
Taking a step off the porch, I made my way into the woods that lined the back of the property.
My business had taken off over a year ago, and now I was doing extremely well.
Most of the time I made purchases online, then I would make up an excuse to contact customer service. Depending on how they did, I rated them on my website, which now had over a million followers.
A quarter of my income came from advertising on my sight, which I approved, and sometimes even reviewed, later.